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I lived in the US for fourteen years and I still find that statement so telling. Living now as I do back in the UK, there is so little stigma attached with confessing atheism. It is generally accepted and recent polls suggest that between 31 and 44% of Brits state that they do not believe in any god or gods. I feel very sure that were it not for the horror that atheists provoke in the US that the actual figure there would be much higher than the official figure of around 10%. It is remarkable in a country that has gone to such great lengths to separate church and state that the prevalent attitude to non-believers is so much more akin to Muslim countries than it is to European societies. Last week we had a general election. None of the candidates expressed any religious views whatsoever as holding any would lose that candidate so many votes. Brits would be very unhappy to learn that their leaders thought that they were getting advice and instruction from god. Contrast that to the USA where there would be no chance at all of becoming president if the candidate came out and said “I don’t believe all this mumbo jumbo. I derive my moral code from an innate sense of human decency.”
Anyway keep fighting the good fight as they say. I guess the only way that acceptance will ever be achieved in the US is when sufficient numbers of atheists come out. However, I can totally understand your reticence. The likelihood of being ostracized by your entire community and possibly your family seems very real.